Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia — The restrictions on movement related to the pandemic are understandable, but they must not be used to artificially obstruct the provision of humanitarian aid in conflict areas, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said at a high-level discussion on the protection of civilians in armed conflict at the UN Security Council today.
At the heart of Estonia's work in the Security Council is compliance with international law, and it is important that international law including international humanitarian law is not applied selectively, the Estonian Head of State explained. Under the pretext of the pandemic the flow of the humanitarian aid is artificially obstructed and will not reach the most vulnerable. For example, 3.5 million people in occupied eastern Ukraine are in need of humanitarian aid and protection after six years of war. “Estonia also calls for unimpeded humanitarian access in Syria. All arguments not to extend the cross-border mechanism in July don’t correspond with the reality on the ground,” President Kaljulaid added.
President Kaljulaid also stated that the Security Council is not sufficiently implementing what has already been agreed to protect civilians in conflict areas, and the pandemic adds even more risks that we must be able to mitigate. According to the Head of State, it is extremely unfortunate that the Security Council has still not been able to give joint approval to the call of the UN Secretary General António Guterres for a global ceasefire, thus not using its voice that has a moral force.
In her speech, President Kaljulaid also encouraged the use of new technologies that could improve the availability of humanitarian aid and called not to get bogged down in the discussions of the Security Council over wording disputes, which do not contribute to the protection of civilians.
The high-level discussion took place within the framework of the Estonian Presidency with the briefings by UN Secretary General António Guterres, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer, and former President of Liberia and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
The full text of President Kaljulaid's speech: https://www.president.ee/en/official-duties/speeches/15996-at-a-high-level-discussion-on-the-protection-of-civilians-in-armed-conflict-at-the-un-security-council/index.html
Additional information:
Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia
Communications Department
+ 372 631 6229
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Forwarded by:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Communication Department
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